Fake politician held for duping shop owner of 85K

Pune: Baner police on Sunday night arrested an electrician from Indapur on the charge of cheating an eyewear shop at Baner Phata near Katraj-Dehu road bypass of Rs85,271 on April 20 by posing as a ‘politician'.Senior inspector Chandrashekar Sawant of Baner police told TOI, "We arrested Siddhant Patil alias Zende (37) of Mhasobachiwadi in Indapur on charge of purchasing high-value eyewear of different brands worth Rs85,271 from the shop in exchange for payment by cheque that was later returned by the bank due to insufficient balance.""The shopkeeper, Adinath More (24), approached us with his complaint on Sunday afternoon. Zende, who cleared his HSC examinations, entered the shop wearing a starched white shirt and black or white trousers. He pretended to be an influential politician and remained on the phone, feigning to speak with some leader," Sawant said. "Later, while speaking to More, he claimed that the sleuths of the Enforcement Directorate (ED) raided his home and he could not execute online or cash transactions. He could only pay through cheques. He then purchased glasses and goggles worth Rs85,271 and handed over the cheque," the officer said.Sawant stated, "A case under the Negotiable Instrument (NI) Act has been registered against Zende in Gurgaon, a case of cheating has been registered against him with Bhigwan police station, and a body offence has been registered against him with the Walchandnagar police station."